A Meeting in the Garden
by Muttson
Summary: A short story detailing the first encounter between two monsters...


A Meeting in the Garden

The sun shone brightly, bathing the garden in a cheery glow. Birds flew through the sky, twittering cheerfully. Pollen drifted through the air, carried aloft by a cool breeze. The castle seemed to shine in the light, standing watch like a proud parent. And down in the dirt was the prince, digging a new row for buttercups.

"Your highness, please, don't strain yourself. We can do that work." A gardener spoke up.

"Oh, don't worry about me. And I told you, just call me Asgore." The prince sat up and smiled at the man. "After all, we're friends, Paul."

"Quite right, Asgore." The man replied. He did like the prince and was fairly close to him, but being friends with such an important person was simply hard to fathom. After all, he was only a gardener, and Asgore was the future King of Monsters.

They worked in near silence for a while, Asgore humming quietly to himself. Paul moved away to work in another section as Asgore picked up a buttercup. He tucked the flowers into the dirt and patted them into place carefully. "That should do it," he said to himself.

He picked up a nearby watering can and started giving the flowers their first drink in their new home. He smiled, watching the water seep slowly into the dirt, imagining the flowers roots taking in the moisture and giving the flower nutrients. In fact, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the girl until she spoke up.

"Hi."

He jumped and nearly dropped the watering can. Spinning around, he came face to face with a female monster about his age that looked remarkably similar to him.

"H-hi," he stammered. "I'm Asgore."

She gave an amused smile. "Yes, I know. You are the prince, after all."

"Oh, right. I guess you would know my name. And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" Asgore said, remembering the way his father asked people their names.

The girl giggled. "I'm Toriel." She replied. "What are you working in the garden for?"

He shrugged. "I guess I just like to do it." He said. "I dunno."

Toriel nodded. "Yeah, I'm like that with cooking. I just really like it! Have you ever had snail pie?"

"No, but I do like snails!" Asgore replied enthusiastically.

"I can make some for you if you'd like," Toriel offered. "I like making pies the best!"

"Yeah, that'd be great!" The prince said. His face fell. "Oh, I forgot. My father doesn't like me to eat food that doesn't come from the castle. He says it's dangerous."

"Oh." Toriel looked down. "Well, maybe I can think of something." She looked back up at Asgore. "I mean, I'm sure you could get him to make an exception, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. He's pretty strict. Maybe if he met you, he'd change his mind. After all, you're really nice."

She blushed. "Aww, thanks. You're nice too."

Now it was Asgore's turn to blush. They stood there together for a minute, neither looking at the other.

"Well, I'll ask him, I guess. But for now, you want to... do something?"

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" Toriel asked.

"I can show you around the garden. It's really nice this time of year." The prince gestured. "All the flowers are in bloom."

"Lead the way," Toriel said. "I'll be right behind you."

The prince showed his newfound friend all of the flowers that he had been planting. He happily discussed the best way to care for each different plant, from the kind of soil it did best in to the amount of sun it would flourish the most under. Toriel followed him around the garden, cheerfully asking questions and examining the beautifully arranged flowers.

"So that's the garden," Asgore said when they had finished. "It's my favorite place to be. My dad doesn't really like me to go too far from the castle. He says there are some humans that aren't friendly out there." He shrugged. "Between you and me, he's a bit of a worrywart."

Toriel smiled. "That's okay, I won't tell anyone. He's just looking out for you."

Asgore sighed. "Yeah, I know. But he's just kind of... Well, I don't know. He doesn't get why I like to work in the garden so much. I mean, he doesn't stop me, but he just kind of... shakes his head when I tell him what I've been doing."

Toriel nodded. "Yeah. Well, you did more than just garden today. You met me!" She suddenly reached out and poked him. "You're it!" She turned and ran, laughing.

Asgore grinned and chased after her, all thoughts of his father forgotten. They ran through the garden, tagging each other and laughing. Eventually, the sun started to sink towards the horizon.

"Aww, I have to get back home soon." Toriel said, looking at the sky. "It's gotten pretty late." She looked at Asgore and smiled.

"So, umm. Do you want to, maybe, come back tomorrow? I'll be out here, working in the garden." Asgore managed to say.

Toriel smiled shyly. "Yeah, I'd love to. I really like you, Asgore."

The prince turned red. "Oh. Umm, I-I like you too, Toriel. I like you a lot, I mean." He stammered slightly, trying to find the right words. "You know, you're really pretty and-" He caught himself. "Well, you're smart too. And nice and... Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll see you then!" Toriel waved.

Asgore watched her leave, confused. Something strange had happened to his mind. It was like it had stopped working properly as soon as he saw her. He told himself he'd ask his father about this feeling. The king knew everything. With the thought of tomorrow in his head, he picked up the watering can and headed inside.

 **Thank you to EpicCesar for the suggestion! This is a parallel story of sorts to my main story, Uppertale, which I highly recommend checking out if you liked this short story. It's a pretty long fic that I have no intention of ending anytime soon, so if you're looking for a longer read, there ya go. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on my other fic!**

 **Umbreon31**


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